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Handicapped Beach Accessibility

People come from all over the world to enjoy the beautiful beaches on South Padre Island. Therefore, making the beaches accessible is a top priority for the City. To promote accessibility the City has 24 beach access points along the less than 3 mile stretch of Gulf Boulevard. Of the 24 Beach access points, 18 are developed providing over 200 parking spaces with 19 of those being handicap spaces. Of the 18 developed beach access points all have a walk-over, stairs or mobi-mat with 4 being wheelchair accessible.

In early 2010 the City received 6 Mobichairs. Mobichairs are amphibious wheelchairs that are beach and surf accessible. They not only allow someone with special needs to get out and enjoy the beach but also allow them to access the water. 12 of the 24 beach accesses have mobi-mats for easier access for the handicapped. With the addition of the new Mobichairs the Texas Land Commission Jerry Patterson declared South Padre Island beaches the most accessible in Texas. To check out a mobichair please contact the South Padre Island's Fire Department at (956) 761-3040.

In addition, the City of South Padre Island also has handicapped accessibility transportation. All of the WAVE's buses meet ADA requirements and are equipped with wheelchair lifts to accommodate easy accessibility to handicapped passengers. The WAVE also offers the Paratransit service which permits the handicapped passenger to be picked up and transported to any of our beach accesses. The passenger requesting the Paratransit service must complete an application and be evaluated by a doctor. The physician will then make a determination if the passenger qualifies for the Paratransit service. To view and download the Paratransit application please click here. All applications need to be turned in at the WAVE's administrative offices at 4113 Padre Boulevard.